Bulk container for catering or large food orders

ABSTRACT

A foldable carton blank, and erected carton are provided which include vertical and/or horizontal dividers. The dividers are removably attached to the foldable carton blank. A method of erecting a carton from such a blank is also provided.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention generally relates to a container and more specificallyrelates to a four-wall container made of a foldable material and formedfrom a one-piece blank, parts of which may be separated from the rest.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Boxes of various sizes and structures have been made to transport food,most of them sized for a single serving or small serving of food, suchas a single sandwich or a single pizza. However, restaurants andcatering companies often need to deliver prepared food in an amount thatis a large quantity. While larger boxes are available, often times suchcaterers and food distributors desire a large container where differentkinds of foods can be separated but still delivered in a singlecontainer such as a large box.

Accordingly, there is a desire in the food preparation and cateringmarketplace for a container that will facilitate the housing of multiplefood items and which can be separated into multiple compartments fordifferent foods.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An embodiment of the carton of the present invention includes a bottom,front and rear walls, side walls, and a vertical or horizontal divider.The carton also preferably includes a top or lid, and in blank form, thedivider or dividers are removably attached to the remainder of thecarton blank.

One embodiment of the present invention is a four-wall container made ofa foldable material having a bottom wall panel. The bottom panel has afront edge, a pair of side edges, and a rear edge. A front wall ishingedly joined to the front edge. A first side wall is hingedly joinedto one of the side edges and a second side wall is hingedly joined tothe other side edge. A rear wall is hingedly joined to the rear edge.Each of the front wall, the first and second side walls, and the rearwall is configured to be folded to a position, substantially vertical,that is substantially perpendicular to the bottom wall panel. Each ofthe front and rear walls has attached to it a flap on both sidesthereof, the flaps for adding support to the box and to help hold thebox together in the upright position, as described in more detail below.

The front and rear walls each preferably has slits therein, definingholding flaps. Each side wall has hingedly attached to it at the top ofthe side wall a narrow flap having tabs on opposite sides thereof toassist in retaining the box in an upright position once it is erected.Hingedly attached to the rear wall is a top cover. The top cover has afront flap with angled edges for insertion into the interior of the boxwhen erected, and thus, closure of the container. In the blank form,each of the top cover and front flap optionally has removably attachedthereto a large outer flap—which may be used as a separation member—thatincludes a central panel and two outer members which are hingedlyattached to the center flap. The large outer flap is sized to fit intothe interior of the box when erected to create a shelf or a horizontalseparator so that certain foods will not get ruined and/or additionalfood can be added to the carton. At the opposite end of the blank,removably attached to the front wall and the flaps hingedly attached tothe front wall, are two vertical dividers. Each vertical divider has acenter portion and two U-shaped ends that are each hingedly attached tothe center portion. The vertical dividers are configured to be held inplace by the holding flaps when inserted into the erected carton.

To erect and use the box, the large outer flap is optionally removedfrom the top cover and front flap (if vertical separation is desired),and the vertical dividers are removed from the front wall and the flapshingedly attached thereto. The box is then erected. With the bottomportion lying on a flat, horizontal surface, the flaps attached to thefront and rear walls, respectively, are folded upwardly until they aresubstantially perpendicular to the front and rear wall flaps (i.e.substantially vertical). The front and rear walls are then folded,relative to the bottom portion, such that they are in a substantiallyvertical position and thus substantially perpendicular to the bottompanel. Each of the side walls is then folded upwardly relative to thebottom panel. The top flaps on the side walls are folded downwardlyrelative to the side walls, over the flaps attached to the front andrear walls. The tabs on the upper flaps are inserted into notches in thefront and rear walls. One or both vertical dividers are then insertedinto the slits in the front and rear walls, and/or the large separationmember is inserted into the interior of the box. The top cover can thenbe folded over the interior space and the front flap inserted into theinterior space to close the carton.

Other advantages, objects and/or purposes of the invention will beapparent to persons familiar with constructions of this general typeupon reading the following specification and inspecting the accompanyingdrawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a top plan view of a one-piece blank made of a foldablematerial;

FIG. 2 is a top plan view of a container formed from the blankillustrated in FIG. 1 having vertical dividers inserted therein;

FIG. 3 is a top perspective view of a container formed from the blankillustrated in FIG. 1 having a vertical divider inserted therein;

FIG. 4 is a front perspective view of a container formed from the blankillustrated in FIG. 1, with a portion of the front wall removed forillustration purposes, and having a large separation member insertedtherein; and

FIG. 5 is a top plan view of a second embodiment of a one-piece blankfor a container made of a foldable material.

Certain terminology will be used in the following description forconvenience and reference only and will not be limiting. The words “up,”“down,” “left,” and “right” will designate directions in the drawings towhich reference is made. The words “front” and “rear” will designate thefront of the container facing the reader in FIG. 4 and the otherdirections will follow accordingly. Such terminology will includederivatives and words of similar import.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

A first embodiment of a one-piece, four-wall container 10 is illustratedin FIGS. 1-4 and is made of a foldable material such as corrugated paperboard. Referring to FIG. 1, the container is shown in blank form, andhas a substantially rectangular bottom panel 12. Bottom panel 12 has afront edge 14, a rear edge 16 generally parallel to front edge 14, and apair of generally parallel side edges 18, 20 which are opposite oneanother. A front wall 22 is hingedly joined to the front edge 14 via afold line formed along front edge 14. A first side wall 24 is hingedlyjoined to side edge 18 via a fold line formed along side edge 18, and asecond side wall 26 is hingedly joined to side edge 20 via a fold lineformed along side edge 20. A rear wall 28 is hingedly joined to the rearedge 16 via a fold line formed along rear edge 16. Each of the frontwall 22, the first and second side walls 24, 26, and the rear wall 28 isconfigured to be folded to a position that is substantiallyperpendicular to the bottom wall panel 12 as illustrated in FIGS. 2-4.

Front wall 22 has a top edge 30 spaced from and generally parallel tofront edge 14, and two oppositely disposed and generally parallel sideedges 32, 34. A side flap 36 is hingedly attached to edge 32 via a foldline formed along edge 32 and a side flap 38 is hingedly attached toedge 34 via a fold line formed along edge 34. A notch 40 is scored alongor adjacent edge 32 toward the top of wall 22 and flap 36, and a notch42 is scored along or adjacent edge 34 toward the top of wall 22 andflap 38. Side flaps 36, 38 are generally rectangular in shape, and eachhas a cutout portion at its respective upper, outer corner. Flap 36includes cutout portion 44, and flap 38 includes cutout portion 46.

Front wall 22 also includes two slits 48, 50 therein. Slits 48 and 50are spaced apart from one another and are each generally semi-circularin shape and mirror images of each other. The slits 48, 50 are scoredthrough the entire thickness of the front wall 22 such that flaps arecreated that can be moved with respect to front wall 22. Slits 48 and 50define flaps 52 and 54 which may be folded inwardly into the interior ofthe container 10 along fold lines 49 and 51, respectively, which in theillustrated embodiment are generally parallel to each other and edges 32and 34. It is contemplated that one slit or more than two slits could beprovided in both the front wall and rear wall, that shapes other thansemi-circular could be used, and that the slits could be oriented in adirection so that same are not mirror images to one another.

Attached to the top edge 30 are two vertical dividers 60, 62. Verticaldivider 60 is removably attached, along one or more perforated areas, toboth front wall 22 and side flap 36, and includes a center member 70,which is approximately the same width as the carton 10 (denoted by “W”in FIG. 1). Center member 70 includes arms 72 and 74. Arm 72 is hingedlyattached to an end member 76 along a fold line formed along an edge 75.End member 76 is generally C-shaped in the illustrated embodiment, butmay be other shapes if desired. A second C-shaped end member 78 ishingedly joined to center member 70 along a fold line at an edge 77.Edges 75 and 77 are generally parallel to each other and to edges 32,34. A second vertical divider 62 is also removably attached, along oneor more perforated areas, to the top edge 30 of the front wall 22 and toside flap 38. The second vertical divider 62 preferably has the sameshape and structure as the first vertical divider 60. Thus, verticaldivider 62 includes a center member 80 comprising arms 82, 84 onopposite sides of the center member 80, and end members 86, 88. Arm 82terminates at edge 85 and arm 84 terminates at edge 87. End member 86 ishingedly joined along a fold line to edge 85, and end member 88 ishingedly joined along a fold line to edge 87. Edges 85 and 87 aregenerally parallel to each other and to edges 32, 34. The first andsecond vertical dividers 60, 62 are removably attached to one another ata perforated area via end members 78 and 86. The areas of perforatedattachment are shown as Xs in FIG. 1.

Side wall 24 has a cutout 90 in its side edge adjacent the front wall22. The cutout 90 is in the general shape of an outer member 150 of alarge outer flap 142, discussed in more detail below. Side wall 24 has atop edge 92 which has hingedly attached to it a top flap 94 via a foldline formed along top edge 92. The top flap 94 has two tabs 96, 98,extending therefrom, one on either side. Tab 96 extends in the directionof the front wall 22 and tab 98 extends in the direction of the rearwall 28. Side wall 26 is a mirror image of side wall 24. Specifically,side wall 26 includes a cutout 100, which faces or opens in thedirection of front wall 22 and is in the general shape of an outermember 152 of large outer flap 142. Side wall 26 has a top edge 102 witha top flap 104 hingedly attached thereto via a fold line formed alongtop edge 102. Top flap 104 includes oppositely projecting tabs 106, 108extending from either side of top flap 104. Notches 40, 42 are sized toreceive tabs 96, 106 which are part of side wall top flaps.

Rear wall 28 includes a top edge 110, a first side edge 112, and asecond side edge 114. Rear wall 28 has attached to it two side flaps116, 118. Side flap 116 is hingedly joined to the first side edge 112via a fold line formed along edge 112 and side flap 118 is hingedlyjoined to second side edge 114 via a fold line formed along edge 114.Side flaps 116 and 118 are mirror images of side flaps 36 and 38,respectively and thus have cutout portions 121 and 123, respectively,that extend in the same direction. Between side flap 116 and rear wall28 along first side edge 112 is a notch 120 and between side flap 118and rear wall 28 along second side edge 114 is a notch 122. Notches 120,122 are for receiving tabs 98 and 108, respectively. Rear wall 28 alsoincludes two generally semi-circular slits 124, 126. Slit 124 is amirror image of slit 48 and creates a flap 128 which is joined to therear wall 28 at a fold line 125. Because flap 128 is essentially amirror image of flap 52, flap 128 extends in the same direction (towardside wall 24) as flap 52. Slit 126 creates a semi-circular flap 130 thatis joined to rear wall 28 at a fold line 127. Because flap 130 is amirror image of flap 54, flap 130 extends in the same direction (towardside wall 26) as flap 54. Fold lines 125 and 127 are generally parallelto each other and to edges 112, 114.

A generally rectangular top panel 132, or lid, is hingedly joined to thetop edge 110 of rear wall 28 via a fold line formed along top edge 110.The lid 132 is, in the illustrated embodiment, the same size and shapeas bottom panel 12 and includes a small flap 134 extending from an outeredge 136 of the lid 132. The small flap 134 is hingedly joined to outeredge 136 via a fold line formed therealong and includes angled sides138, 140, i.e. sides which angle towards one another as same projectaway from edge 136, for easy insertion into the interior of the box 10.A large outer flap 142 is removably attached to the lid 132 and smallflap 134 along perforated areas denoted by Xs in FIG. 1. The large outerflap 142 includes a generally rectangular central panel 144 which hastwo substantially parallel side edges 146, 148. The large outer flap 142also includes a first outer member 150 hingedly joined to side edge 146via a fold line formed along side edge 146, and a second outer member152 hingedly joined to side edge 148 via a fold line formed along sideedge 148. Outer members 150, 152 are sized and shaped to fit within thespaces defined by cutouts 90, 100 and side flaps 36, 38.

FIG. 2 shows the container 10 of FIG. 1 in erected form. To erect thecarton 10, vertical dividers 60 and 62 are removed from the remainder ofthe carton blank and separated from each other. Large outer flap 142 mayalso be removed from the remainder of the carton, depending on whetherit is going to be used in the interior of the carton 10 once the cartonis erected. After these pieces are removed, if the remainder of theblank is lying generally horizontally (which is preferred, but notessential), front wall flap 22, along with side flaps 36, 38 are foldedupwardly about the fold line formed along edge 14 until they aresubstantially vertical, and thus perpendicular to bottom panel 12. Oncesubstantially vertical, side flaps 36, 38 are folded inwardly about foldlines formed along edges 32, 34, i.e. toward the rear wall 28. The rearwall panel 28 is then folded upwardly about the fold line formed alongedge 16 in a similar manner to a substantially vertical position, alongwith side flaps 116 and 118. Side flaps 116, 118 are then foldedinwardly, i.e. about fold lines formed along edges 112, 114, toward thefront wall 22 such that they are substantially perpendicular to rearwall 28. One of the side walls, such as side wall 24, is folded upwardlyabout the fold line along edge 18, with respect to bottom panel 12 to asubstantially vertical position. Subsequently, top flap 94 is foldedover side flaps 36 and 116 about the fold line along top edge 92 anddown into the interior of the carton 10. Tab 96 is inserted into notch40 and tab 98 is inserted into notch 120, which effectively holds theside wall 24 and side flaps 36, 116 in place. Similarly, side wall 26 isfolded upwardly about the fold line along edge 20 to a substantiallyvertical position and top flap 104 is folded inwardly and downwardlyabout the fold line along top edge 102 over side flaps 38 and 118. Tab106 is inserted into notch 42, and tab 108 is inserted into notch 122 toeffectively hold side wall 26 and side flaps 38, 118 in place. Frontwall 22 and rear wall 28 are also thus held in place, creating anerected carton.

Once erected, one or both vertical dividers 60, 62 may be inserted intothe interior of carton 10. To insert vertical divider 60, end members 76and 78 are folded relative to the center member 70 about the fold linesalong edges 75, 77, respectively, preferably substantiallyperpendicularly. As shown in FIG. 2, flap 52 is moved inwardly aboutfold line 49 into the interior of carton 10, which results in a holdingspace 154 between flap 52 and the plane in which front wall 22 resides.Similarly, flap 128 is folded interiorly about fold line 125 to create aholding space 156 between flap 128 and the plane in which the rear wall28 resides. A portion of end member 78 is then placed within the holdingspace 154 and a portion of the end member 76 is placed within theholding space 156, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3. Flaps 52 and 128 arebiased against end members 78 and 76, respectively, to hold the endmembers against the front wall 30 and rear wall 28, respectively. Insimilar fashion, vertical divider 62 may be inserted into the interiorof carton 10. Vertical divider 62 may be erected by folding end members86, 88 relative to center member 80 about fold lines along edges 85, 87,respectively, such that the end members 86, 88 are substantiallyperpendicular to center member 80. Flap 54 is moved about fold line 51toward the interior of carton 10 to define a holding space 158, and flap130 is moved about fold line 127 toward the interior of carton 10 todefine a holding space 160. A portion of end member 88 is placed withinholding space 158 and a portion of end member 86 is placed withinholding space 160. Flap 54 is biased against end member 88 to hold endmember 88 against front wall 22 and flap 130 is biased against endmember 86 to hold end member 86 against rear wall 28. Once one or morevertical dividers are positioned within the interior of carton 10, thelid 132 may be folded downwardly about the fold line along top edge 110to close off the interior of container 10. If large flap 142 has notbeen removed, central panel 144 is folded, along with small flap 134,about the fold line along edge 136 so that central panel 144 lies injuxta-posed relation to front wall 22. Outer member 152 may be foldedabout the fold line along edge 148 and inserted between side flap 38 andside wall 26 by use of cutout 100, and outer member 150 may be foldedabout the fold line along edge 146 and inserted between side flap 36 andside wall 24 by use of cutout 90.

Alternatively, large outer flap 142 may be removed from the lid 132 andsmall flap 134 to be used as a shelf or separator in the interior ofcarton 10. Once removed from the remainder of the carton blank, outermembers 150 and 152 are folded about the fold lines along edges 146 and148, respectively in the same direction relative to, and preferablyperpendicularly to, central panel 144. The large outer flap 142 can thenbe placed within the interior of the carton 10, as shown in FIG. 4.Outer members 150, 152 act as legs to support central panel 144 whichacts as a shelf spaced downwardly from top edges 30, 110.

A second embodiment of a carton blank 10A with dividers is depicted inFIG. 5. Components of carton blank 10A that are identical or virtuallyidentical to those of the first embodiment are indicated using the samenumbers as for the first embodiment, but with the suffix “A”. Theembodiment depicted in FIG. 5 does not include a large outer flap, andtherefore does not include cutouts in the side walls 24A, 26A.

The embodiment of FIG. 5 has side flaps that are different in shape andstructure than the side flaps of the first embodiment. Side flaps 160and 162 are hingedly joined via fold lines along edges 32A and 34A,respectively. Side flaps 164 and 166 are hingedly joined via fold linesalong edges 112A and 114A, respectively. Side flap 160 includes a cutoutportion 170 and a notch 172 between a leg portion 174 and a main bodyportion 176. Likewise, side flap 162 includes a cutout portion 178 and anotch 180 between a leg portion 182 and a main body portion 184. Sideflap 164 includes a cutout portion 186 and a notch 188 between a legportion 190 and a main body portion 192. Likewise, side flap 166includes a cutout portion 194 and a notch 196 between a leg portion 198and a main body portion 200. When the blank of the carton 10A is lyingflat (i.e. all in the same plane), leg portions 174 and 190 extend inthe same direction, thus defining notches 172 and 188 that extend in thesame direction. Leg portions 182 and 198 extend in the same directionwhen the blank is flat, thus defining notches 180 and 196 which extendin the same direction. Accordingly, when the front wall 22A and rearwall 28A are folded upwardly about fold lines along edges 19A and 16A,respectively, with respect to bottom wall panel 12A, and the side panels160, 162, 164, 166 are folded inwardly via fold lines along edges 32A,34A, 112A, and 114A, respectively, the respective leg portions andnotches may interact with each other for side panels 160 and 164 and forside panels 162 and 166 such that they are effectively held in place.

Although particular preferred embodiments of the invention have beendisclosed in detail for illustrative purposes, it will be recognizedthat variations or modifications of the disclosed apparatus, includingthe rearrangement of parts, lie within the scope of the presentinvention.

What is claimed is:
 1. A fully-erected four-wall container made of afoldable material, comprising: a bottom wall panel having a front edge,a first side edge, a second side edge, and a rear edge; a front wallhingedly joined to the front edge, a first side wall hingedly joined tothe first side edge, a second side wall hingedly joined to the secondside edge, and a rear wall hingedly joined to the rear edge; a firstflap hingedly joined to the front wall; a second flap hingedly joined tothe rear wall; a slit in at least one of the front wall and the rearwall to create a slitted wall disposed in a substantially verticalplane, the slit shaped to define a holding flap joined to the slittedwall, the holding flap being disposed at least partially out of thesubstantially vertical plane of the slitted wall thereby defining aholding space between the holding flap and the substantially verticalplane; and a vertical divider comprising a center member and an endmember, the end member partially disposed within the holding space suchthat the holding flap biases the end member against the slitted wall. 2.The container of claim 1, wherein the end member of the vertical divideris a first end member, and the vertical divider comprises a second endmember.
 3. The container of claim 2, wherein the slit in the slittedwall is a first slit, the slitted wall is a first slitted wall, theholding flap is a first holding flap, and the holding space is a firstholding space, the container further comprising a second slit in theother of the front wall and the rear wall creating a second slitted walldisposed in a second substantially vertical plane, the second slit beingsubstantially a mirror image in shape with respect to the first slit anddefining a second holding flap joined to the second slitted wall, thesecond holding flap being at least partially disposed out of the secondsubstantially vertical plane of the second slitted wall thereby defininga second holding space between the second holding flap and the secondsubstantially vertical plane of the second slitted wall, the second endmember partially disposed within the second holding space.
 4. Thecontainer of claim 1, wherein the rear wall comprises a rear top edge,the container further comprising a lid hingedly joined to the rear topedge.
 5. The container of claim 4, wherein the lid has a lid front edge,and the container further comprises a large flap removably attached tothe lid front edge.
 6. The container of claim 5, wherein the large flapcomprises two side members.
 7. The container of claim 6, wherein thefirst flap has a cutout portion sized and shaped to allow receiving of aside member of the large flap.
 8. The container of claim 1, and furthercomprising a third flap hingedly joined to the front wall and a fourthflap hingedly joined to the rear wall.
 9. The container of claim 8, thefirst flap and the third flap each having a cutout portion.
 10. Aone-piece carton blank of a foldable material, comprising: asubstantially rectangular bottom panel disposed in a plane and having afront edge, a first side edge, a second side edge, a rear edge, and awidth defined by the first edge; a front wall panel hingedly joined tothe front edge, the front wall panel having a slit therein defining afirst biasing flap extending in a first direction, a front wall outeredge, a front wall first side edge, and a front wall second side edge,the first biasing flap being in a first position and configured to bemoved substantially out of the plane of the bottom wall panel to asecond position, the biasing flap and front wall panel configured todefine a first receiving space when the biasing flap is in the secondposition; a first side wall panel hingedly joined to the first sideedge; a second side wall panel hingedly joined to the second side edge;a rear wall panel hingedly joined to the rear edge; and a dividerremovably attached to the front wall outer edge, the divider comprisinga center member, a first end member joined to the center member, and asecond end member joined to the center member, the center member havinga length dimension that is substantially the same as the width of thebottom wall panel.
 11. The one-piece carton blank of claim 10, whereinthe rear wall has a slit therein defining a second biasing flap, thesecond biasing flap extending in the first direction.
 12. The one-piececarton blank of claim 10, wherein the divider is a first divider and theone-piece carton further comprises a second divider which is removablyattached to the front wall outer edge.
 13. The one-piece carton blank ofclaim 10, wherein the rear wall panel has a rear wall outer edge and theone-piece carton blank further comprises a lid panel hingedly joined tothe rear wall outer edge, and a small closing flap hingedly joined tothe lid panel.
 14. The one-piece carton blank of claim 13, and furthercomprising a large outer flap removably joined to the lid panel andsmall closing flap.